Faelan Mourmourakis 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🐝
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fumblebeefae.bsky.social
Faelan Mourmourakis 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🐝
@fumblebeefae.bsky.social
PhD student and cognitive bee scientist at Macquarie Uni's bee Lab based in Sydney 🇦🇺

faemourmourakis.wordpress.com
Today's native bee for #auspollinatorweek is Leioproctus sp. (hairy colletid bee). These small, hairy bees are most commonly found in Australasia!

#pollinatorweek #invertebrates #bees #nativebees #entomology #macrophotography
November 14, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Female round-headed masked bee (Hylaeus rotundiceps) pollinating lillypillys today. Named for their mask-like facial markings.

#nativebees #auspollinatorweek #pollinatorweek #invert #australianbees #invertebrates🐙 #Australianwildlife
November 13, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Megachile (Eutricharaea) sp. or the leaf cutter bee. This female was covered in pollen, they store the pollen on the long scopal hairs under their abdomen.

#auspollinatorweek #pollinatorweek #bees #nativebees #macrophotography #entomology #australianbees
November 12, 2025 at 4:01 AM
This was my first time combining two of my photos, at different focuses, to get a clear, in focus, subject. These Amegilla sp. are currently pollinating all the salvia and tomato plants in my backyard.
#macrophotography #bees #auspollinatorweek #pollinatorweek #insectphotography🐝📷
November 11, 2025 at 12:18 AM
It's Australian native pollinator week! I'll be trying to post a native bee a day. Here's today's (10/11) bee the Ferruginous-tailed Austral-Nomia (Lipotriches phanerura), capable of buzz pollination.

#auspollinatorweek #pollinatorweekaus #australianpollinatorweek #entomology #nativebees #science🧪
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 AM
How many pollinators can you fit in one photo? Found these two brown flower beetles mating next to flying ants and two foraging native bees (Hylaeus and Parasphecodes).

#nativebees #bees #entomology #pollinators #science🧪
November 6, 2025 at 3:43 AM
A beautiful spot to do some assessment marking!
October 15, 2025 at 12:56 AM
I’ll be giving a short talk on Aussie bees their cognition in a few weeks for the @neuroethology.org webinar series! Tune in if you want to learn about bees! #science🧪 #entomology #neuroethology #bees
October 1, 2025 at 7:03 AM
In the park across from my house, these bottlebrush trees attract a ton of native bees. Here is a Lasioglossum (maybe L.bicingulatum but was hard to tell they were so fast) #wildoz #nativebees #entomology #bees
September 19, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Another native bee during teaching this week. This one is a masked bee (Hylaeus sp.) They (usually) have facial markings, typically in bright yellow - hence the name. #hylaeus #wildoz #nativebee #entomology #australianbees
September 19, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Not a honey bee (Apis mellifera) but an Australian native bee, Trichocolletes sp. on flowering Bossiaea scolopendria. #nativebee #wildoz #australianbees
September 15, 2025 at 6:46 AM
A memorial piece I did for my partner’s dad, who’s 17 year old cat, Sherlock, recently passed away. I’ll miss you Mr. Sherlock.
September 10, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Day 2 of our invertebrate prac was great! My students caught a beautiful ichneumon wasp. While o wish I could have shown them some native bees (It’s still a little too cold and no flowers), I was happy to show them at least one Hymenopteran!
September 10, 2025 at 12:18 AM
We have a fun new prac for the ecology unit I help teach, all on invertebrates! Trying to get the students excited about insects 😭
September 8, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Ecology practical I’m teaching this week was on parasites! I think it was a hit with the students 🪱🪰 (we need more invert emojis!)
September 2, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Some oil pastel spider art I did for my art clubs monthly theme (escape!) I’m enjoying getting back to non-academic art a lot while I wait for my thesis results.

#oilpastels #entomology #entoart
July 28, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Been taking a big break while waiting for the response for my submitted PhD thesis. So I’ve decided to take up a more physical art medium, oil pastels! Slowly starting to get the hang of it featuring my blue banded bee and European garden spider.

#bees #art #oilpastel #insects
July 21, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Had a book club meet up at one of my favourite places in Sydney, The Australian Museum!
July 13, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Acquired two new cats! My first two cats were both older adults we adopted from shelters but these two are my first kittens (rescued from an abandoned property).
June 14, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Happy world bee day! Featuring some of the native Australian bees (and honey bees) I’ve gotten to work with through my research. I’m hoping I’ll be able to find future work with native bees and contribute to our growing knowledge of these amazing insects #worldbeeday #entomology #bees #science🧪
May 20, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Thanks to those who came, listened and asked questions during my talk on stingless bee brains. Small but mighty 🧠🐝
#pintofscience #pintofscienceaus #science #entomology
May 19, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Post-PhD beach time!
May 4, 2025 at 2:40 AM
PhDone! Three years and three months, 186 pages and 45,000 words. And all on learning and brains of one of my favourite Aussie bees 🐝🧠 #phd #phdone #phinished #entomology #science🧪
April 30, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Thesis is done and all ready for submission first thing tomorrow morning! 186 pages, 45k words and three years. #phdchat #phdthesis #phdone
April 30, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Only one more day until submission day! Last edits being made in between lots of pets from the cats. Bittersweet. #phdchat
April 29, 2025 at 9:36 AM